• Woman who has been diagnosed as a sex addict sues a school district for failing to prevent her from having sex with male students on the school bus when she was in 11th grade.Barksdale v. Egg Harbor Township Bd. of Ed.

• Civil rights activist challenges Georgia's "stand your ground law." "By not defining what actions create a reasonable perception justifying the use of deadly force, the Act[] potentially deprives all Georgia[n]s of the right to life without due process of law." Hutchins v. Deal

• Former patient of a Rhode Island doctor sues him for featuring her in a book about drug addiction. "Plaintiff had expected, as any reasonable patient would, that her private conversations during her treatment sessions with the Defendant would remain private and confidential."Lisnoff v. Stein

• Class action alleges the YMCA deceives consumers by representing that it practices "Christian" values while allowing its gyms to be used for gay sex trysts. "YMCAs around the country ... are currently being used as brothels for cruising, with the YMCA's knowledge and implicit consent."Keister v. YMCA

• Social workers are not liable for a sexual assault on a 5-year-old boy by a 16-year-old male placed in an adoptive home. "To rule against the individual defendants in this case would definitely break new ground."Doe v. Braddy

• Student sues college for refusing to grant her the "reasonable accommodation" of a single room after she complained about her roommate's exhibitionist behavior. Blankmeyer v. Stonehill College

• School district can be sued over a guidance counselor's sexual relationship with a student who was over the age of consent. "The inherent imbalance of power between a guidance counselor in a public school and a student may render opportunistic sexual predation sufficiently shocking, even with a 'consenting' student over sixteen, to form the basis of a substantive due process claim."Doe v. Fournier

• Utah judge finds a "credible threat" that Utah County officials will prosecute a polygamist and his wives for bigamy. The officials' acts "suggest that an actual prosecution of Plaintiffs is forthcoming."Brown v. Herbert

• Louisville, Ky., strip club sues a competitor for displaying an electronic sign outside a convention center that said "Don't go to Godfathers, their girls are ugly and have crabs."The Godfather v. Trixie's Lounge

• A lawyer cannot sue two women he dated for posting derogatory comments about him on liarscheatersrus.com. "[W]hen viewed within the larger context of the website on which they were posted, there can be no doubt that a reasonable reader would understand the comments to be opinion." Coulotte v. Ryncarz

• Oglala Sioux tribe sues beer makers and Whiteclay, Neb., bars for enabling alcohol abuse on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The illegal trade in alcohol has "caused devastating injuries to the Lakota people and massive financial damages to the [tribe]."Oglala Sioux Tribe v. Schwarting

A New Mexico woman has settled her lawsuit against a physician's assistant at a health clinic who allegedly expressed anti-abortion views while removing her IUD without her permission, On Point has learned.

Ashley Van Patten's original complaint included an unusual claim for violation of the due process right to choice of contraception arising from a visit to the Rio Rancho Family Health Center in Rio Rancho, N.M., for an adjustment of her IUD. She also alleged civil battery, describing the actions of physician's assistant Sylvia Olona as “malicious.”

After Olona took the IUD out, the suit said, she told Van Patten, “I personally do not like IUDs. I feel they are a type of abortion” and recommended that she use a “non-abortion” form of contraception such as a depo provera shot or the pill.

But what appeared to be a blatant intrusion of religious belief into medical treatment was scrubbed from an amended complaint filed last week, leaving Van Patten to allege only a run-of-the-mill malpractice claim for negligent removal of the IUD. Olona's name is also omitted and the only defendant is the federal government, which funds the Rio Rancho clinic.

Van Patten attorney Ryan J. Villa of Albuquerque explains that he amended the complaint "pursuant to a settlement agreement reached by the parties. The United States wanted Ms. Van Patten to file this complaint as part of the settlement agreement." Settlement documents have yet to be filed with the court.

In an answer to an earlier version of the suit, the U.S. generally denied the allegations, admitting only that “Ms. Olona examined Ms. Van Patten for an 'IUD check.'” The removal of an IUD during an adjustment is a “known risk inherent in the treatment,” the defense also said.

A New Mexico law says a health care provider may “decline to comply with an individual instruction or health-care decision for reasons of conscience.” A Bush Administration “conscience rule” which allows medical personnel to refuse to perform procedures they find morally objectionable took effect Jan. 19, Bush's last day in office.

But Olona allegedly went far beyond the scope of both the state and federal rules by imposing her beliefs on Van Patten. The original complaint also said she had a “practice of removing IUDs from patients without their permission.”

While treating Van Patten, “Defendant Olona stated, 'Everyone in the office always laughs and tells me I pull these out on purpose because I am against them, but it’s not true, they accidentally come out when I tug,'” the suit said.

Van Patten also no longer alleges a civil battery or any “malicious” conduct on Olona's part. The clinic “failed to use ordinary and reasonable care in the care and treatment of Plaintiff,” the amended complaint said.

The mother of a prostitute slain by the “Craigslist killer” at a Marriott hotel in Boston has alleged in a first-of-its-kind lawsuit that the hotel's operator is liable for her daughter's death because it failed to prevent prostitution from occurring on its premises.

The Utah Supreme Court has given a boost to the battle against prescription drug abuse by ruling that medical professionals can be sued over injuries to a nonpatient that were allegedly caused by drugs they carelessly prescribed to patients.

The family of a 15-year-old girl who was killed in the crossfire of a gang shootout on a Caribbean island has asked an appeals court to reinstate a lawsuit that tests the liability of cruise ship operators for onshore injuries to passengers.

In yet another “swoon and fall” case against a church, an Illinois woman claims she was injured during a church service when a parishioner who was receiving the “spirit” fell backward, knocking several other worshippers into her.

Jurors may have opened the door to a new trial in a Maryland school bullying case by saying they returned a verdict for the defense because they were afraid of setting a bad precedent for school systems throughout the country.

The maker of Four Loko has previewed its defense of a slew of product liability lawsuits, arguing that the physical effects of the energy drink's mixture of alcohol and caffeine — far from being an undisclosed risk to consumers — are precisely what made it so popular.